A beautiful and very successful actress played the lead role in a new musical show. Her home was in the countryside, but she did not want to go back there every night, so she bought an expensive house in the centre of the city, she got some beautiful furniture(家具) and had a man to paint the rooms in new colours.

    It was very difficult to get tickets for her show, because everybody wanted to see it. So she decided to give the painter two of the best seats. She hoped that this would make him work better for her. He took the tickets without saying anything, and she heard no more about them until the end of the month, when she got the painter's bill (帐单). At the bottom of it were these words: “Four hours watching Miss Hall sing and dance : 3 pounds,” with this note: “ After 5 p.m. I get 15 shillings (先令) an hour instead of 10 shillings.”

    My parents told me we were going camping during winter vacation. Camping! They are always trying to get me outside more. It seems like my mom is always saying, "Brian, turn off the computer!" or "Brian, put down your phone and talk to us!" They don't understand that I'm in the zone when I'm using a keyboard, so of course I don't want to stop.

    We drove for an hour to Everglades National Park. As soon as we got there, I couldn't get a signal(信号) for my phone. Suddenly, I was facing three days of no contact with the outside world. My mom tried to tell me I'd like it, "You'll be able to look around more when you're not staring at a screen."

    We took a hike with a ranger(护林者) in the afternoon. He explained a lot to us about the Everglades. At first, I couldn't care less, but after a while I started listening. By the end of the hike, I realized there was more action going on in the park than in most video games.

    We did a lot of walking and that night I was really tired. Even so, I woke up in the midnight, and I was scared at first because of some strange sounds. But then I realized it was the barred owl that the ranger had described. It sounded like it was calling out "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you?" Then I was not afraid anymore and went back to sleep.

    The next two days we did a lot more exploring. I saw that all the land and water and animals were connected in the Everglades. Small fish eat mosquito eggs; large fish eat those smaller fish; and alligators eat the large fish. If you got rid of(除掉) the mosquitoes, you might lose some of the other animals higher up the food chain too.

    After we left, we talked in the car about the Everglades. Right in the middle of our discussion, I heard a familiar sound from my phone. My friend Jeff was sending me a message. I reached for my phone, then put it back down. "Aren't you going to reply?" asked Mom.

    "I will in a little while," I said. My dad and mom looked at each other and just smiled.

    Alfred Nobel, the great Swedish inventor and engineer, was born in Stockholm on October 21, 1833, but moved to Russia with his parents in 1842, where his father, Immanuel, made a strong position for himself in the engineering industry. Immanuel Nobel invented landmines and made a lot of money from the government during the Crimean War(克里米亚战争), but went bankrupt soon after. Then, the family returned to Sweden in 1859, where Alfred began his own study of explosives in his father's lab. He had never been to school or university but had taught himself, and by the time he was twenty, he became a skillful chemist and excellent linguist, speaking Swedish, Russian, German, French and English. He built up about 100companies in 20 different countries. He was always searching for a meaning to life. He spent much time and money working on how to end the wars, and the peace between nations, until he died in Italy in 1896. His famous last will, in which he left money to provide prizes for outstanding work in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace, is a memorial to his interests and ideas. And so, the man is remembered and respected long after his death.

Do you feel lonely when your best friend isn't around? Here's our advice to you—and to all kinds who feel lonely sometimes. 

It's hard when a best friend isn't around—maybe because he or she moved to a different school or a different class. You may feelleft out during break（间歇）or lunchtime. You want to make new friends, but how do you find them? Maybe it seems like everybody else already has his or her own friends. But remember, there's always room for more friends. 

Start by looking around your classroom—think about which kids you'd like to play with during break. Look for chances（机会）to say hi to them, smile, and be friendly. Offer（主动提出）to share something or express（表达）your appreciation（欣赏）to them. Invite someone to play with you or say "Do you want to sit here?" in the lunchroom. When you're at break, walk over to kids you want to play with, act（举止）friendly, and say "Hi, may I join you?" or just join in. 

If you have trouble（问题）doing this or if you're feeling shy, ask your teacher to help you make new friends. Teachers are usually pretty good at matching（相配）people up. The best way to make friends is to be a friend. Being kind, being friendly, sharing, saying nice things, offering help—pretty soon, you'll have one, or two, or even more new friends. 

You might still miss that special best friend. But when you see each other again, you can share something you didn't have before he or she left: You can introduce him or her to your new friends!

Last summer, my parents and I were planning to travel. We finally {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (choose) Shanghai. Shanghai is a large, crowed and modern city but it also has lots {#blank#}2{#/blank#} historical places. 

We comfortably stayed there for two days. On the first day, we went to Nanjing Road. There were many shopping malls and people, so we had to speak {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(loud) to make our voice be heard. We also bought several {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(ticket) to visit some places of interest. In the morning, we took {#blank#}5{#/blank#} walk along the Huangpu River. After {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(visit) the Bund in the evening, we went to the Oriental Pearl Tower. It is a famous place in Pudong and one of the world's {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (tall) TV towers. 

On the second day, we visited Xintiandi. We saw many modern shops and restaurants in traditional shikumen-style houses. The scenery(风景) was really amazing, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} we went back early. Because it was hotter than {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(I) hometown. 

The trip to Shanghai {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(leave) an unforgettable memory on me. I liked both the new and the old Shanghai. Two days was a bit short. I hope I can go to Shanghai again some time in the future. 

Hello, my name is Peter. I have a big and happy family— my grandparents, my parents, my sister and I.

My grandparents are old but healthy. They like listening to news on the radio. Sometimes(有时候), they go to the supermarket(超市) to buy things.

My parents Jack and Rose work in the same middle school. They are nice to their students and their students love them very much. They like sports. They play tennis every day. So they are very healthy.

My sister Jane is a student. She likes to take a trip. On Saturday s or Sundays, she often goes out with her friends. She likes pets(宠物), too. She has two cats. Every day after school, she plays with them.

I'm a student, too. At school, I have many good friends. I like to be with them. On weekends(周末), we have no classes. So we play sports or go to parties.